Do Baltimore Ravens' Offseason Moves Vault Ray Rice to the Top of Draft Boards?

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is a stud. The guy is a gamer and, most of all, he wants to win.

Since nearly the beginning, fantasy footballers took notice and began to utilize Rice immediately as the PPR domination station that he is, but he is also known to tote the rock well in the running game.

Up to this point, there have been a couple of major knocks on Rice. The first one being Willis McGahee stealing TDs away from him. Rice has never gotten the bulk of the goal-line carries, or even anywhere close to it.

Now, McGahee is gone, as is Le’Ron McClain, and Vontae Leach is now clearing a path in front of Rice, so nothing stands between Rice and his path to football glory, right?

Well…not according to everyone.

Unfortunately, the other knock on Rice has been his size. To me, this is one of the most pointless arguments in all of football.

Ray Rice doesn’t get lit up. When you have a running back of his stature (5'8'', 212 lbs), it’s not likely for him to be hit hard very often, as these type of running backs tend to be elusive. While Rice does like to be physical at times, he still falls under this category, for the most part.

Last year, Rice toted the rock 307 times for 1,220 yards (4.0 YPC)—with poor offensive line play, no less—then caught 63 passes for 556 yards. He touched the ball 370 times last year and still grunted out 16 games.

I’m not worried about durability. At least not while he’s only 24 years of age.

The burning question here, however, is: Do you launch Rice to the top of your draft board?

In PPR leagues, I would say certainly, or at least consider it. The man is going to get you 60 extra points alone by just catching the ball. For a running back, that’s not too shabby, to say the least.

In non-PPR leagues, it is a little more of a tough call.

Adrian Peterson is likely to get roughly the same amount of yards and has appeared to have fixed his fumbling issue. He is also still likely to get into the end zone more often, despite everything that has worked in Rice’s favor this offseason thus far.

Arian Foster looked primed for the post-hype slump (I would call it sophomore slump, but I can already see people complaining because he is in his third year in the league).

Rice just seems like a safer pick.

Chris Johnson should dominate again, and in non-PPR leagues, I would take him over Rice. In PPR leagues, take Rice over CJ2K. Johnson catches his share of balls, but Rice will be far more effective in the passing game and their rushing yardage should be similar.

I love Jamaal Charles, but let’s get real. Charles simply won’t get enough touches from Todd Haley to be in the conversation. It’s sad, but it’s the way it is.

Anyway, Ray Rice is a safe-bet back with the potential to have one of the greatest all-purpose seasons in the past decade. In PPR leagues, I would definitely scoop up Rice with the first pick or as early as possible. AP is the only one I would take over him, and even he seems like he is destined to get injured this year with his past history.

In non-PPR leagues, give Rice a look right away, but I can’t fault you for not taking him first overall.

Bottom line: With Leach clearing a path, McGahee not taking away scoring opportunities and expected improved offensive line play, Ray Rice should be in play as one of the best, if not the best fantasy football option this year.

Especially in PPR leagues.

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